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Charges: Point-blank shots finished off wounded teen intruders

Article by: CURT BROWN AND PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune staff writers

Updated: November 26, 2012 - 3:03 PM

LITTLE FALLS, MINN. -- A 64-year-old man was charged Monday with murdering two teenagers who broke into his home on the outskirts of Little Falls, shooting each of them at close range in the head after having already wounded them.

Byron David Smith was charged in Morrison County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder without premeditation in the killings of Nicholas Brady, 17, and his cousin Haile Kifer, 18.

The criminal complaint says that Smith shot the two as they came down his basement stairs several minutes apart on Thanksgiving Day. The complaint adds that he shot them numerous times.

He then waited a day before asking a neighbor to alert authorities about what he had done, the document added. Smith showed investigators the bodies, was arrested and has remained jailed since.

Smith appeared for a 10-minute court hearing late Monday morning wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet in shackles. Bail was set at $2 million, with the prosecution noting the defendant's extensive travels to Beijing, Bangkok, Moscow and elsewhere overseas while he was working for the U.S. State Department.

In asking for the high bail figure, County Attorney Brian Middendorf said the incident was a case of cold-blooded murder. "The circumstances are appalling and far beyond any self-defense claim," he said.

Sheriff Michel Wetzel told reporters Monday afternoon that Smith explained to authorities that he didn't call immediately after killing the two because "it was Thanksgiving. He didn't want to trouble us on a holiday."

As for whether Smith could be justified in shooting intruders, Wetzel said that a citizen does have to right to protect person or property, but it has to be reasonable.

What Smith did "went further than the law. It doesn't permit you to execute once the threat is gone."

Defense attorney Gregory Larson declined to comment after the hearing, saying he wanted more time to study the case.

About a dozen family members of the teens attended the hearing.

At court in support of the defendant was friend John Lange, who said Smith had been targeted at least six times for break-ins and doesn't deserve to be in jail for protecting his home. "They tortured him and targeted him, and it's not good," Lange said. "One time alone would be too much. It's terrible."

The Sheriff's Office said it has received only one previous report of a break-in at the home, in October, and there have been no arrests in that incident.

According to the complaint, Smith told investigators:

He heard glass breaking around noon Thursday while he was in the basement. It was the latest of several break-ins that he's experienced. Brady started coming down the stairs, and Smith shot him with a rifle by the time he saw the intruder's hips.

Brady fell down the stairs and was looking up at Smith when the homeowner shot him in the face.

"I want him dead," Smith explained to the investigator for the additional shot.

Smith put Brady's body on a tarp and dragged him to an office workshop.

A few minutes later, Smith heard footsteps above him. As in Brady's case, Kifer too started down the stairs and was shot by Smith by the time he saw her hips, sending her tumbling down the stairs.

Smith attempted to shoot her again, but his rifle jammed, prompting Kifer to laugh.

Upset, Smith, pulled out a revolver he had on him and shot her "more times than I needed to" in the chest, he said.

Smith dragged Kifer next to Brady as she gasped for her life. He pressed the revolver's barrel under her chin and pulled the trigger in what he described as a "good, clean finishing shot" that was meant to end her suffering.

Smith acknowledged leaving the bodies in his home overnight before calling a neighbor to ask about a lawyer and to request that authorities be notified.

Tessa Ruth, an aunt of Brady, was at the hearing and said she wished Smith had fired a warning shot or called police instead of shooting. "It wasn't right for them to be there and, yes, he had a right to defend himself. But to execute them like that . . ."

Man Charged in Murder of Little Falls Teens: 'Fired More Shots than Needed'



Updated: 11/26/2012 2:16 PM KSTP.com By: Leslie Dyste

A 64-year-old man has been charged in the deadly shooting of two Little Falls teens.

According to authorities, Byron Smith of Belle Prairie Township is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer.

The Sheriff's office says Smith shot and killed Brady and Kifer after the two broke into his home.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says they believe this was a burglary.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith said he was in his basement on Thanksgiving when he heard two people breaking into his home upstairs. He said he heard a window break.

He saw the first pair of legs walk down the stairs and shot the man, later identified as Brady in the legs. He then shot him in the face.

He dragged Brady's body on a tarp to an office room in the basement, and returned to his chair and sat back down.

A few minutes later another person came down the stairs. He said he shot the woman, later identified as Kifer.

Smith said he tried to shoot her again, and the gun jammed. He said she laughed at him, but 'It was not a very long laugh because she was already hurting.' He pulled out another gun and shot her in the chest and then under the chin.

According to authorities he told investigators, "If you're trying to shoot somebody and they laugh at you, you go again." He said he feared the two teenagers had weapons. Authorities say the teenagers did not have weapons.

Smith acknowledged he had "Fired more shots than (he) needed to."

Smith said he then dragged that body into the room where the other body was. He said he noticed the man was still gasping, and he fired another shot.

Smith never called 911. He called a neighbor Friday morning asking if the neighbor knew any lawyers.

A neighbor contacted police Friday afternoon.

Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says, "The reason Smith said he didn't call in right away was because it was Thanksgiving and he didn't want to trouble us on a holiday."

Authorities say when deputies arrived at Smith's home, he answered the door he told deputies he had shot the teens.

Right now Minnesota law allows the use of deadly force from inside your home if it's necessary. According to Wetzel, "This case went further than that. The law does not permit you to execute someone after the threat is gone."

The county attorney Brian Middendorf said, this is a controversial case. "I would not ask that people rush to judgment. Smith is entitled to a fair process."

Smith's bail was set at a $2 million unconditional bond or a $1 million bond with the condition he cannot leave the state, and would have to surrender his passport and guns.

There is at least one prior report of a break in at his home in October.

The next court date has not yet been set.

Authorities say this is still an active and ongoing investigation.